A 49-year-old surfer from Deltona got the year's first shark bite out of the way, a Volusia County Beach Patrol officer said Saturday.

Ronald White took a nibble to his right ankle Friday in about 3 feet of water off the Beachway Avenue approach in New Smyrna Beach, agency spokeswoman Capt. Tammy Marris said.

"By the bite, it was a pretty small shark -- probably a 1 to 2 footer," Marris said. White, who didn't see the shark that bit him, was treated for the minor injury on-scene and declined further treatment.

Marris said she hasn't seen sharks in the water this year, but she has seen several stingrays.